ARE FLYING CARS IN STORE FOR US? KIPLINGER THINKS SO.
Meet George Jetson! Buzzing around in his bubble-top family saucer... whether it's the Jetsons or the flying cars in the Back to the Future films, our idea of the future of travel has always included aviating autmobiles, impractical though they may be. But are these science fiction wonders really in store for us? The folks at Kiplinger think so, and they feature one such idea in their article "Five Ways Technology will Change the Way You Travel." I'll outline those five things, and share my own opinion, after the jump. 1. Flying CarsYup, they didn't waste any time getting to this - thought it's a far cry from the Jetsons or Hill Valley of 2015. This is a plane that can drive on public roads by folding up its wings when it lands. It runs on plain old auto fuel, has a top land speed of 65 mph, and a hefty price tag to the tune of $200,000. Now - this clearly isn't for everyone. There's no parking garage in any city that will accomodate this thing, and you'd have to [Read More]published July 6, 2011 at 4:31pm CDT
FOR $4.99 YOU CAN STOP YOUR TEEN FROM TEXTING AND DRIVING
Moms: How much is your child's safety worth to you? You probably can't put a number on it. Texting while driving is a serious problem - the statistics are mind-boggling. As of 2010, as many as a whopping 30% of accidents were caused by someone using a phone, and studies have shown that texting while you're behind the wheel at 35mph places you at even greater risk than driving drunk at the same speed. That blows my mind, I just can't wrap my brain around it. Our children have grown up immersed in new technology, and they are learning to drive with phones in their hands. The solution to this is two-fold - first and foremost, set a good example. Keep the phone out of your hand while you're driving. As of 2008 adults were just as guilty as our teens were, but those numbers are changing due to many national awareness campaigns. Second, invest in technology that puts you in control of your teen's safety. For a mere $4.99 per year you can download the Ask Patty Mobile [Read More]published May 26, 2011 at 5:31pm CDT
THE ULTIMATE GAS SAVINGS SUITE
Gas prices. The very mention of the term makes my stomach clench. Is there no end in sight? Everyone seems to have somewhere to lay the blame, and my Facebook and Twitter feeds are seeing more and more pumpside rants as people post enraged photos of their ginormous fill-up costs. Regardless, however, of who or what is to blame for our current plight, be it a political issue, an economic one, or a vast conspiracy involving shadow governments and other dimensions, one thing is certain: The only really reliable way to lower gas prices is to use less gas. With this in mind, CNN money has compiled a suite of six apps and websites to help us seek out the lowest fuel prices, plan shorter routes, ease the stress of carpooling, and track your car's fuel economy. These apps include: GasBuddy, a smartphone app that uses user-submitted photos to find the lowest gas prices nationwide Bankrate's gas calculator, a website that will help you calculate whether driving across town for [Read More]published May 10, 2011 at 7:50pm CDT
ASK PATTY GOES MOBILE WITH MOBILE TATTLETALE!
Ask Patty is always watchful for the hottest things that you, our readers, are going to be crazy about, and now we've partnered with our first mobile app. This smartphone app doesn't help you decide where to eat, or connect you to all your social media, nor does it have anything to do with birds, angry or otherwise. This app has only one purpose - to stop texting while driving. Intrigued? I thought you might be. Hit the jump for details. Okay, so here's how this works: This is an app for moms with teen drivers. Today's teens have learned how to drive a car with a phone in their hands, and distracted driving statistics nationwide are terrifying. Lives are being lost, and laws against cellphones while driving don't help the problem. Why? Because they don't deter drivers from using their phones, they just force them to hide them while driving, causing a more severe distraction than simply using the phone would be. This app, which retails for $4.99 per year, is ins [Read More]published April 18, 2011 at 4:45pm CDT
INFOGRAPHIC: HOW THE AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY IS EMBRACING SOCIAL MEDIA
At AskPatty, we keep a keen eye on social media as it relates to the auto industry, and it looks like we're not the only ones. Social media is an interesting venue - success here is not gained by spending money on ads - the big gains here come from out-thinking, not outspending. So how are the big automakers doing in this new arena? This infographic courtesy of CarInsurance.org breaks it down for you. It's pretty large, so allow it some time to load. Hit the jump to be enlightened! Infographic created by Muhammad Saleem of Car Insurance Guide. You can follow him on Twitter @msaleem. http://carinsurance.s3.amazonaws.com/Automotive Social Media.png [Read More]published March 30, 2011 at 12:25am CDT
THE SOCIAL MEDIA LANDSCAPE AND SEO
Did you know that your Facebook and Twitter pages can improve your organic search results? Or that Digg is proving to be a valuable tool for traffic generation? Both are true, according to CMO.com's Social Media Landscape for 2011. Ask Patty loves Social Media. We're on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, LinkedIn, and now, Tumblr too - and we know that many of our readers and clients are using Social Media for their businesses. This helpful pdf from CMO illustrates just where today's hottest social networks are succeeding, and where they're not-so-great and#40;for instance, if you were thinking of using Reddit to build your brand, forget it. The Reddit community doesn't like thatand#41;. Maybe it'll change your social media strategy - or augment it a bit. Head past the jump for more. For our part, Ask Patty has a Tumbr for the first time now, which will be helping us to syndicate this blog's feed, among other things - and we're certainly taking a serious look at Digg to see how w [Read More]published March 16, 2011 at 12:02am CDT
published March 14, 2011 at 7:56pm CDT
E-READERS: WHICH ONE TO CHOSE?
E-readers have been gaining a lot of ground lately and I know they have a lot of benefits: lower cost, eco friendly and#40;less treesand#41;, compact, and with wireless downloads possible, the Internet is at your fingertips! There’s no longer a need to feel embarrassed if you’re buying the latest romance novel or say you’re on a trip out of town and don’t know where the nearest bookstore is? Just download it – even at two am! And best of all, you can have all your favorite books at your fingertips. So yeah, easy. And while my reading paperbound books will always outweigh e-books, I find myself increasingly grabbing for my phone to get a quick read in rather than the book that’s resting in my purse. Because of the small screen, it’s making reading difficult and so I want to upgrade. But which one to chose? I’m leaning towards an iPad or Kindle, but I’m always up to hear other opinions! What’s your opinion on e-readers? Do you have an e-reader? Which one? Let me know wh [Read More]published September 21, 2010 at 2:11pm CDT
IPHONE APP FEATURES ABSURDLY SEXIST WALLPAPERS FOR THE IPHONE 4
I was browsing the iPhone app store looking for some new images to download for my phone's wallpaper, when I happened upon these four images from A+ Wallpapers HD , filed under "funny". Description and website information here: A+WallpapersHD . After seeing these images, I immediately trashed the app and sent an email to Apple. These images are depraved, sexist, misogynistic, degrading, and most certainly not "funny". LaPrincipessa | Twitter | Email [Read More]published September 12, 2010 at 11:04pm CDT
HOW TECHNOLOGY MAKES AUTO TRAVEL SAFER AND MORE EFFICIENT
It’s easy for many of us to take for granted how much technology contributes to making driving safer and more efficient than ever before. At the same time, it’s hard for many of us to comprehend what improvements technology will bring us in the future.In many of today’s automobiles, technology is what automatically turns on the windshield wipers when a vehicle enters rain… or the headlights when a vehicle enters a tunnel… that means a driver has less to do at that moment. When it comes to going somewhere new, an in-vehicle navigation system can get the driver to the destination without requiring them to look down to a map. If the driver misses a turn, the navigation system can automatically turn down the radio and verbally tell the driver the new instructions to get them back on the route. That’s safer than trying to read an open map while driving. So-called “haptic” controls – which use a sense of touch or feel – can pass along important information to t [Read More]published June 28, 2010 at 8:30pm CDT